Buick-GMC considers loaner cars to build brand awareness
10-12-10, 10:54 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Buick-GMC considers loaner cars to build brand awareness
Buick-GMC considers loaner cars to build brand awareness
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz12AUk4QEG
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz12AUk4QEG
GMC and Buick, the fastest-growing brand in the U.S. this year, are considering a courtesy loaner program for customers getting warranty service on their vehicles to build awareness of the company's products.
GM may start the service in the “next couple weeks,” Brian Sweeney, vice president of sales for Buick and GMC, said in a telephone interview. The program would seek to get GMC Acadia owners into a Buick Enclave, for example, and build recognition of more GM vehicles, he said.
“We want to expose customers to other Buick and GMC products,” said Sweeney, who last week met with about 900 dealers that sell the two brands.
Dealers selling Buick need to change and meet the expectations customers have when shopping for a premium car, said Mike Bowsher, co-chairman of the national dealer council for Buick-GMC and president of Carl Black Automotive Group.
“We can't sell Buicks like we did Pontiac,” Bowsher, who runs dealerships in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, said in a telephone interview. “A lot of us were old Pontiac dealers, and we now have to learn how to handle the Lexus, Ritz-Carlton, Cadillac, Mercedes kind of crowd.”
Some Buick-GMC dealers already make loaner vehicles available to customers, Bowsher said. GM may push dealers to make the practice standard, he said.
Buick outpaced all other brands with a 58 percent increase in U.S. sales through September compared with the same nine months of 2009, according to the Automotive News data center. GMC sales rose 31 percent.
Pared brands
GM pared its U.S. brands to Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC as part of its bankruptcy last year. Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac were shuttered and Saab was sold as the company received $50 billion from the federal government while restructuring.
GM said last week it would add the Verano compact car to Buick, the brand's first small car in more than 20 years. The company hasn't announced when production of the Verano will begin at GM's Orion assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich.
Buick also will add a sport-utility vehicle that will be smaller than the Enclave, and a higher performance version of the Regal sedan called the Regal GS, Sweeney said. The Verano and smaller SUV follow new models including the Regal earlier this year and the LaCrosse mid-sized sedan last year.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz12AUyblyQ
GM may start the service in the “next couple weeks,” Brian Sweeney, vice president of sales for Buick and GMC, said in a telephone interview. The program would seek to get GMC Acadia owners into a Buick Enclave, for example, and build recognition of more GM vehicles, he said.
“We want to expose customers to other Buick and GMC products,” said Sweeney, who last week met with about 900 dealers that sell the two brands.
Dealers selling Buick need to change and meet the expectations customers have when shopping for a premium car, said Mike Bowsher, co-chairman of the national dealer council for Buick-GMC and president of Carl Black Automotive Group.
“We can't sell Buicks like we did Pontiac,” Bowsher, who runs dealerships in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, said in a telephone interview. “A lot of us were old Pontiac dealers, and we now have to learn how to handle the Lexus, Ritz-Carlton, Cadillac, Mercedes kind of crowd.”
Some Buick-GMC dealers already make loaner vehicles available to customers, Bowsher said. GM may push dealers to make the practice standard, he said.
Buick outpaced all other brands with a 58 percent increase in U.S. sales through September compared with the same nine months of 2009, according to the Automotive News data center. GMC sales rose 31 percent.
Pared brands
GM pared its U.S. brands to Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC as part of its bankruptcy last year. Hummer, Saturn and Pontiac were shuttered and Saab was sold as the company received $50 billion from the federal government while restructuring.
GM said last week it would add the Verano compact car to Buick, the brand's first small car in more than 20 years. The company hasn't announced when production of the Verano will begin at GM's Orion assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich.
Buick also will add a sport-utility vehicle that will be smaller than the Enclave, and a higher performance version of the Regal sedan called the Regal GS, Sweeney said. The Verano and smaller SUV follow new models including the Regal earlier this year and the LaCrosse mid-sized sedan last year.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz12AUyblyQ
10-12-10, 04:44 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Buick outpaced all other brands with a 58 percent increase in U.S. sales through September compared with the same nine months of 2009, according to the Automotive News data center. GMC sales rose 31 percent.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-12-10 at 04:48 PM.
10-12-10, 10:31 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Good new products are driving Buick's growth/success (starting with Enclave and Lacrosse, the top sellers by far), that's the key and job well done.
Loaner cars to build awareness of strong product offerings by a brand are a good idea. I personally have enjoyed Lexus and Mercedes loaners of various models that interested me.
Loaner cars to build awareness of strong product offerings by a brand are a good idea. I personally have enjoyed Lexus and Mercedes loaners of various models that interested me.
10-13-10, 04:02 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
“We can't sell Buicks like we did Pontiac,” Bowsher, who runs dealerships in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, said in a telephone interview. “A lot of us were old Pontiac dealers, and we now have to learn how to handle the Lexus, Ritz-Carlton, Cadillac, Mercedes kind of crowd.”
Some Buick-GMC dealers already make loaner vehicles available to customers, Bowsher said. GM may push dealers to make the practice standard, he said.
Some Buick-GMC dealers already make loaner vehicles available to customers, Bowsher said. GM may push dealers to make the practice standard, he said.
10-13-10, 09:17 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Loaners are a cost of doing business at a dealership with a full service department. The better brands have to have decent loaners (along the lines of the article) and customers like me expect that for routine service (other than basic oil changes) requiring the car stays in the shop for more than a couple of hours.
My Lexus dealership is my best example of how loaners should be handled to contribute to high customer satisfaction. And my Lexus happens to be the most reliable car (out of several) that I've owned in the last decade.
My Lexus dealership is my best example of how loaners should be handled to contribute to high customer satisfaction. And my Lexus happens to be the most reliable car (out of several) that I've owned in the last decade.
10-14-10, 01:42 AM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
Beware! There's possibly another reason to this. Sometimes when a manufacturer is overloaded with cars (typically GM), this is a way to dump models and move metal. Now, while this may have been the case in the past with GM, Buick sales and models are currently strong. So perhaps this is legit. Not so sure about GMC.
So this could be doing two things: 1) Slyfully inflate GM's sales figures, without the negative stigma of rental car fleet sales. 2) Allow dealers to aquire a loaner fleet at substancially reduced costs. No doubt GM works out some sort of subvented deal to make this happen.
Overall, I am skeptical based on GM's past tactics. But I hope it's genuine in the name of customer satisfaction.
So this could be doing two things: 1) Slyfully inflate GM's sales figures, without the negative stigma of rental car fleet sales. 2) Allow dealers to aquire a loaner fleet at substancially reduced costs. No doubt GM works out some sort of subvented deal to make this happen.
Overall, I am skeptical based on GM's past tactics. But I hope it's genuine in the name of customer satisfaction.
10-14-10, 06:50 AM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
IMO, flucuations in dealership loaner car fleets have insignificant impact on sales figures of any high volume vehicles. No doubt fleet sales and rental car sales are a large and significant part of Big 3 sales numbers and contribute to poor resale values too.
Trending Topics
10-14-10, 10:49 AM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Beware! There's possibly another reason to this. Sometimes when a manufacturer is overloaded with cars (typically GM), this is a way to dump models and move metal. Now, while this may have been the case in the past with GM, Buick sales and models are currently strong. So perhaps this is legit. Not so sure about GMC.
So this could be doing two things: 1) Slyfully inflate GM's sales figures, without the negative stigma of rental car fleet sales. 2) Allow dealers to aquire a loaner fleet at substancially reduced costs. No doubt GM works out some sort of subvented deal to make this happen.
Overall, I am skeptical based on GM's past tactics. But I hope it's genuine in the name of customer satisfaction.
So this could be doing two things: 1) Slyfully inflate GM's sales figures, without the negative stigma of rental car fleet sales. 2) Allow dealers to aquire a loaner fleet at substancially reduced costs. No doubt GM works out some sort of subvented deal to make this happen.
Overall, I am skeptical based on GM's past tactics. But I hope it's genuine in the name of customer satisfaction.
10-14-10, 04:04 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Correction/clarification to my above post (if discussing the Acura ZitDX model):
Bloating Acura loaner fleets with lingering ZitDX loaners could have a huge and significant impact on sales numbers, although the street scene becomes uglier as a result. Now that I think about it, probably half the ZitDX's I've seen on the street were probably loaners.
Bloating Acura loaner fleets with lingering ZitDX loaners could have a huge and significant impact on sales numbers, although the street scene becomes uglier as a result. Now that I think about it, probably half the ZitDX's I've seen on the street were probably loaners.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Gojirra99
Car Chat
3
07-11-06 09:26 AM
